Brian and Raechel love the restaurant business so much, they got married in their new restaurant. People on social media are going to ask where this is located. It’s in the last paragraph! ??
Look for a new pizza restaurant from a familiar face in Bryant. It’s not a chain or a franchise. It’s owned by someone who grew up in Saline County – and in the restaurant business. Brian Krikorian is the son of Serge and Mary Krikorian who you may know from Dinner’s Ready and Vibrant Occasions in Benton, but they also had a pizza restaurant.
“Different Dough Pizza Co has been a dream of mine since I was 13,” said Brian. “I grew up in my parent’s pizza restaurant, Sergio’s Pizza. My first trip out of the hospital after I was born was to that pizza restaurant, where I hung out under the counter during a Friday night pizza rush.”
When Brian was 13, his parents decided to go in a different direction and close the pizza business. He says he has spent his life trying to figure it out ever since. He began writing a business plan and perfecting it while he was still in high school. In college, he figured out how to cook pizza in the dorm. In his junior year, he bought his first pizza oven.
In his senior year Brian went to learn about pizza from experts at the Pizza Expo, then trained and got certified to make pizza from one of the top pizzaiolos in the world. He added to that experience by spending the last few years learning hospitality and business from Chick-fil-A at the Cantrell Road location in Little Rock, Arkansas.
He met his wife Raechel at that restaurant. She has a similar path, with learning the restaurant industry and business operations. “It was actually her dream to open up a pizza food truck when she was younger. She spent her life learning about the restaurant industry from working in a pizza shop and at multiple Chick-fil-A restaurants.”
So what can you expect from Different Dough Pizza Co? Brian said they will be concentrating on the quality and the basics.
“The goal is to create a difference in every aspect starting with the dough. Our dough is freshly made after learning how to make it from some of the top names in the pizza industry throughout the United States. From the sauce to the cheese to the toppings, we are doing our best to provide the highest quality we can find while maintaining the ability to give customers a fair price. We are a pizza company doing pizza products. We will start simple by sticking to what we are best at – pizza.”
They will offer New York style pizza, a Detroit style pizza, Calzones, Breadsticks, and Cheesesticks. “We want to keep it simple and only provide the things can be done at a higher quality than competitors. Down the line, we would love to add more options such as salads and sandwiches with housemade bread or fresh pasta, but we want to make sure we can deliver on our key products to our guests before taking on new challenges.”
Find Different Dough Pizza Co at 3614 Market Place Avenue, behind Walmart in Bryant, and on the other end of the street from Ashley’s Furniture. They open at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 31st. Find them on social media at www.facebook.com/DifferentDoughPizzaCo.